Baku-Kharkov train route changed after safety measures taken

The Baku-Kharkov railway route which is carried out by the trains of the "Azerbaijan Railways" CJSC, doesn't pass through unsafe territory of Ukraine.

"The route of the Baku-Kharkov trip was changed in order to ensure the safety of passengers," the company`s spokesman Nadir Azmammadov told Trend.

"Baku-Kharkov trips are carried out in normal mode, but safety is the most important issue in passenger traffic. This is why the route to Kharkov was changed, and these changes align with the summer schedule of trains," he noted.

A train to Kharkov leaves Baku at 21:50 AZST (GMT+5), every four days.

Regarding safety of transportation, Azmammadov recalled that after a series of railroad explosions in Daghestan, the schedule of routes to Russia has been changed so that the trains would be passing through Daghestan only during daytime.

On July 17, news reports revealed flight MH17 of Malaysia Airlines crashing in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, with 298 people on board. The "Boeing 777" plane, which was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, fell near the city of Shakhtersk. Preliminary reports said there were no Azerbaijanis on board.

Adviser to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs Anton Gerashchenko earlier said that the plane was shot down at an altitude of about 10 kilometers. The information has not been confirmed officially.

The situation in Ukraine escalated in mid-April after mass demonstrations in support of federalization Ukraine's government. Following was a special operation launched in the south-east of the country.

Since the start of the operation, some 200 Ukrainian military servicemen and law enforcement officials were killed, and 619 wounded, according to the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.